M is for Mouse...

...marshmallows, monkey, and macaroni too!

So I'm guessing at some point it will get old for me but for now I'm relishing all these cute thematic units the little pumpkin has been learning at school. This week is all about Families...and the letter M. Thus far she's made macaroni art, played matching games, created Marvin the Movable Monkey, made marshmallow treats, read about a mouse, practiced good manners, and received marvelous marks on her in-class worksheets...and it's only Tuesday!

Now, about that monkey...It might be hard to tell from that picture but Grace just wasn't liking the idea of a boy monkey. Nope, hers had to be a girl monkey,
"Marvina", according to her sweet teacher. Can you see the frilly eyelashes she added to make sure everyone knew hers was a girl monkey???

And then the chucks...did you see those new pink chucks she's sporting?? Yes, P.E. shoes! After spending over an hour at the Stride Rite store and walking out empty handed we just went back to our old faithful and got the pink converse in a size up.

When I went to pick her up today Mrs. Bryan came out to talk to me. No lie, I was nervous. But all she wanted to tell me was that Grace keeps them laughing all day long every day. According to Mrs. Bryan as P.E. was wrapping up for the day, they did the Mickey Mouse dance (told you...M all the way), and the P.E. teacher told them something along the line of "that's all for today" to which Grace replied "Are you sure?" Oh my, I was so embarassed. But they just got tickled at her expressions. We better get to working some more on those manners!

Yay for "Marvelous" on these worksheets! And if we're going to have a mouse in the house then it better be this kind... She was so tickled at this little treat she brought home yesterday. Mmmm...cheese balls! I don't think she's ever had these before...cheetos - yes...these, not sure. But she LOVED them. Told me cheese made her happy. Ay! The little treat came with this cute note:

This bag holds a tasty treat.
Something that mice love to eat.
Open the bag, if you please.
Mice aren't the only ones that like cheese!

Which got me thinking...a little twist on that little poem would be so cute for halloween treats, especially when packaged in these cute bags! Love these pink & orange owls by wants & wishes! Find them HERE.

They even come in boy colors! See HERE. What would be a fun treat to put in these bags???
My mind is spinning with halloween ideas...I'm thinking about a Pumpkin Paintin' Party...hmmm. Better run!

family tree...birthday hats too!

So remember how I mentioned homework??? During our Parent Orientation they gave us this Family Tree project to complete by September 1st. That felt so far away back then. Well, lo and behold September 1st is just right around the corner now so I figured we better get to working on this...and FAST! Over the span of two days we glittered leaves, wrote family names, and then added some photos to the tree and ended up with this: Tip: Full size label sheets make perfect printed "photo stickers"!

And while the little pumpkin glued and glittered away...I worked on these sweet little hats: Just as pretty on the inside as on the outside! I love to add a fun little {unexpected} detail to the inside!! And the coordinating "5" hats finish it off! Hats are for my favorite pair of twins!
Can't wait to see their whole party soon!

I interrupt this message...

to introduce you to...

SuPEr HuDsON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!followed at lightning speed by...

SuPEr GrACe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now, I ALWAYS have my camera with me and then today - when we have 2 fun birthdays (Superhero & Farm) for 2 of our favorite little friends - what do I do??? Leave the camera at home. Back-up diaper bag camera? Nope, forgot that one too. Those 2 pics were taken with my phone.

So no cute pics - I'm so sad :(
Grace & Hudson were even matching in their little farm/cowboy inspired outfits and Heidi even had a "watering hole" photo booth set up and everything. I'm hoping we can get some pictures from the mamas at the parties.

Cori, the kids L-O-V-E-D the capes and masks!! Simply THE BEST party favor EVER!!! Thank you SO MUCH and thank you for inviting us - the littles had a blast at Abram's Superhero Birthday!

And to my teeny, tiny goddaughter Ella Kate~ you were the sweetest little prissy cowgirl at your farm 2nd birthday!!! We love you so much!!

HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY ABRAM & HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY ELLA KATE!

one week down!

And what a first week of school it's been!

A week in review...
~First time having homework
~First Treasure Chest show & tell
~First behavior award (Grace~ you were so proud of that button!)
~First time being the leader "...But Mama, it's the caboose that gets to feed the fish...I want to be the caboose."
~First P.E. class
...and I'm sure many others that I can't think of right now!All week I've been amazed at the number of projects the little pumpkin & her classmates complete in a day's time! She comes home with
3-4 things every day...artwork, worksheets, 3D stuff...these kiddos are BUSY!
-----------------------------------------------

Fashion / Resells...
I've received several emails asking about the little pumpkin's clothes and where I shop. You guys are too sweet - thank you for the nice comments! It's really hard to answer because I shop everywhere! Etsy...Retail Stores...Children's Boutiques...resells...outlets...have Noonie make it (he he he)...you name it! As far as boutique customs, TaDa! Creations and Amazing Gracie are my favorites, and of course, we love Matilda Jane.

I try to go with pieces that have good mix-n-match possibilities because I prefer a bit of an ecclectic style rather than matchy-matchy from top to bottom, and I like to make outfits our own by adding fun little accessories and what nots.

No matter what it is, my only rule is that she still look like a little girl. I can't stand teenage/adult fashions on wee ones. I want little girls to look like little girls.

Grace & I spent about an hour this afternoon trying on stuff from her closet because she's had a growth spurt here lately and a lot of her clothes for Fall are too short on her (so yes, there will be some 3Ts and 4Ts in the resells!). I love when an outfit just sort of comes together by accident and this is one of them...

I bought the shoes on clearance at Target for $6 a while back because I knew 1. She L-O-V-E-S pink and 2. She'd eventually grow into them. The corduroy dress was a recent Carter's Outlet bargain at just $12 on sale, with coupon. And the headband was a lucky find at Gap for $7. So for $25, this sweet little outfit came together, lots cheaper than a similar dress I liked from mini Boden.

When it gets colder, we'll add a long sleeve tee, some fun polka dot tights I also picked up at Gap, and some Ugg-a-like boots and we'll be all set. So don't be afraid to mix & match brands and styles...you'll be surprised what you come up with!

One last thing...I'm working on a birthday hat order to ship on Monday so I probably won't get to list all the resells until next week. There's lots more than the ones in the collage but if you see something that you like, feel free to leave me a comment or email me and I'll be happy to let you know size, measurements, and price.

We're headed to 2 birthday parties for some sweet friends of ours tomorrow so I better get some sleep...it's going to be a busy Saturday! Have a great weekend!

busy bee

While the little pumpkin's been busy with this: Yes, hOMeWorK!
And fun stuff like this: I've been busy with this: Yes! Cleaning out closets and getting ready to list more resells like these below over at

Strawberry Wellies & Dinosaurs Look for details HERE.

Coming soon!

all over the place

This post is just a big hodge podge of stuff...kind of like most of our days!

1. Is it me or has the little pumpkin had a major growth spurt in the past 4 months??!!

She's been complaining of leg pain and in a matter of what seemed like just one week, her beloved pink chucks barely fit her anymore! Yup, I think it's safe to say it's a growth spurt.

2. The $10,000 question...What's for Dinner? While Hudson will eat pretty much anything in sight, Grace is a lot pickier. Her current favorite is spaghetti...but not just regular spaghetti...she likes to eat the noodles with butter & parmesan cheese - no meat sauce. At least she'll eat the chicken from this recipe...so long as it's on the side, not mixed with the spaghetti :) This has become one of our faves - made it last night, in fact! Last Christmas, my dear friend Heidi and I decided to exchange homemade gifts. She gave me the BEST gift - a collection of her family's favorite recipes, all hand-written by her and placed in a keepsake book. She gave me permission to share her recipe so here it is!

Heidi's Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti

Ingredients
1-2 cups of cooked chicken (diced/hammered)
1/2 loaf of Velveeta (diced)
1 can of mild Rotel (can use 1/2 can if too spicy)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Desired amount of cooked spaghetti noodles

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a large pot until Velveeta is thoroughly melted.
Add a splash of milk or chicken broth if sauce seems too thick.
Serve immediately.
(Great with garlic bread!)

Told you it was easy! My kind of recipe!!

3. Fun with your Food. Pen & Paper Flowers has become a favorite read of mine. Jess has such cute ideas and I love her "Keeping it Real" closing comments. When I saw THIS fun post I knew we had to try it in honor of back-to-school week.

I had all the ingredients on hand {Is that bad?} so while the fam was eating dinner, I scrambled to assemble these fun ice cream apples. WARNING: to see the pretty pictures, go HERE! To see my last minute version, keep reading below... So even though they weren't perfect, they were still cute and were gobbled up by little fingers in no time! 4. Scrappy flowers. Remember THIS dress I made for the little pumpkin and THIS sweet pin Amber made for me? Well, I decided to try my hand at making one, tweaking it along the way and ended up with this: I love how it added that "oomph" factor to the dress!

5. Halloween!!! I love planning the costumes and I'm excited to say we have a winner! All of these were contenders: unicorn, owl, spaghetti (yes, spaghetti - not sure where the little pumpkin got that one!), and cotton candy (would have been SO cute) among many others....but after the votes were counted... won!

Now about Hudson...he he he...I think he'd make a mighty cute PONY! We'll see...

That's it for today.
Hope you're having a great week!

our new routine

First Day of School - Part II

So after we dropped off the little pumpkin at school and ran to the post office to mail some packages (I'd forgotten just how easy one child is when it comes to errands!), Hudson & I headed home and enjoyed some one-on-one time.

We played "school"...

and then I just watched him play his new favorite game...

First, you put it waaaaay up there. Then you take it down and examine it closely, saying "ca" (car). Then you throw it down HARD to see what it does. Getting tickled at the loud THUD it makes when it hits the chair. Repeat...and again...and again.

This one is 100% boy.
I love to watch him play.
Boys play so differently from girls! And then it was FINALLY time to go pick up the little pumpkin at school!!! We walked in just in time as her teacher was handing Grace the paints to give out to her friends. It was so cute to watch them get excited when it was their turn! The teacher had them bring their favorite t-shirt on the first day, they each took turns describing why it was their favorite, then they put them all together and tried to remember what shirt belonged to whom...part of their My Friends and Me unit for the week. She was so excited when I picked her up and I could tell she really enjoyed her first day, which put this mama's heart at ease. An answered prayer indeed!

She was tickled that they made pudding during their "math" time, learning about equal parts and conversions "and then we got to EAT IT for SNACK!!!!!" Loved how happy she was! The teacher gave each kiddo their own copy of The Kissing Hand to take home, a sweet book about a racoon who misses his mama on the first day of school. I'd never heard of this book before. LOVE IT! And when we got home.... A celebration "cake" in honor of her first official day of school!!! Just a simple little way to fancy up her PB&J using THIS super easy recipe from Gourmet Mom on-the-Go. Anything to make her day a little more special! So thankful for a wonderful first day!
Here's to many, many, many more days like this one!

Class of 2025

The little pumpkin started Preschool this morning. *sniff, sniff* She wasn't excited or anything... The all-important backpack shot! Sadly, our butterfly one wasn't wide enough at the top to fit the requisite folder so we had to go with Option B.

New tradition started this year! Can't wait to see how this changes year to year!! (Idea from Roots & Wings Co., via HERE).

The little pumpkin ready to go!
Hurry up, Mama!!! We sent some fun 1st Day of School goodies for her 8 PreK classmates, along with a sweet sentiment. LOVE these fun, all-natural paints from Sidewalk Sensations. Find more HERE. We're here! Time to go in! But not before a little picture with mama. Greeting her teacher. Figuring out the whole check-in procedure...add a bow tie to the bear with your name on it. Feeling a bit nervous...but
NO TEARS!!!
{at least not from the little pumpkin *wink*} And this little monkey was all smiles......until he looked over and she wasn't there.Hmm...One day it'll be my turn... Hurry up 12:15 p.m.!!!
We can't wait to get our little pumpkin back!

...and just as I was wrapping this up I realized that 2025 is exactly 30 years from the year Lance & I graduated high school! Wow!